Ruth Ottman, Ph.D.
Professor of Epidemiology (in Neurology and the Sergievsky Center)
Deputy Director for Research, Sergievsky Center, Columbia University
Research Scientist, New York State Psychiatric Institute

She received an A.B. in zoology in 1975 and a Ph.D. in genetics in 1980 at the University of California, Berkeley, and completed a post-doc in cancer epidemiology at the same institution in 1981. She joined the faculty in epidemiology at Columbia University in 1981.

Dr. Ottman's primary area of expertise is genetic epidemiology. Her research addresses the role of inherited factors in susceptibility to neurologic disorders, primarily focusing on seizure disorders. She is also interested in methodologic issues in genetic epidemiology, including research designs for testing gene-environment interaction, methods for collection of valid family history data, and approaches to assessing familial aggregation.

Becca Wedel
Project Coordinator

Becca received an AB in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis in 2003. She has worked on various research studies over the last ten years, including studies of memory and dementia, language acquisition in infants, and educational interventions. She is currently a master's student in Biostatistics in the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

Sylwia Misiewicz
Project Coordinator

Sylwia received her B.A. in Psychology from Baruch College, City University of New York in 2005 and a M.A. in Psychology from City College in 2008. She is currently a master’s student in the Mental Health Counseling program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is concurrently coordinating the Partial Epilepsy Study, also in the Sergievsky Center.